Jane Eleanor Benham Hay (1829 – 11 January 1904) was an English

Victorian painter Victorian painting refers to the distinctive styles of painting in the United Kingdom during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). Victoria's early reign was characterised by rapid industrial development and social and political change, whic ...

and illustrator. She was loosely associated with two important artistic movements of the mid-19th century: the

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, ...

painters of Britain and the

Macchiaioli The Macchiaioli () were a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century. They strayed from antiquated conventions taught by the Italian art academies, and did much of their painting outdoors in order ...

of Italy.

Biography

Jane Benham was born in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1829 to Ebenezer Hay and Mary Ann Essex Hay. She was born into a family of iron, copper, an
metal workers
She travelled to Munich in 1850 with a friend,

Anna Mary Howitt Anna Mary Howitt, Mrs Watts (15 January 1824 – 23 July 1884) was an English Pre-Raphaelite professional (history) painter, professional writer, women's rights activist and spiritualist. Following a health crisis in 1856, she exhibited rarely ...

(1824–1884). Together, they hoped to engage in serious study of drawing and painting, but after their arrival in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, it became clear that women would not be permitted to study at the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. Undeterred, they approached

Wilhelm von Kaulbach Wilhelm von Kaulbach (15 October 18057 April 1874) was a Germans, German painter, noted mainly as a muralist, but also as a book illustrator. His murals decorate buildings in Munich. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Bio ...

, then Director of the academy, and requested the privilege of private study in his studio. He agreed and permitted them to work there at liberty, although it is unclear how much formal instruction he gave them. Jane stayed in Munich until December 1850, when she was compelled to return to London. Anna Mary remained in Munich for two full years, returning to London in 1852. There she compiled her diary and personal letters into a text, ''An Art Student in Munich'', which was published in 1853 and reissued in 1880. In the text, she uses the pseudonym ''Clare'' to refer to Jane Benham. Jane married artist William Hay in 1851 and they had a son the following year. However, their marriage did not last long as Jane left London for

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in the mid-1850s. Around the same time, she met

Francesco Saverio Altamura Francesco Saverio Altamura (5 August 1822 – 5 January 1897) was an Italian painter, known for Romantic style canvases depicting mainly historical events. Biography left, ''Medieval Marriage: Marriage of Buondelmonte'' He was born in Foggia, ...

(born 1822 or 1826 – died 1897), a painter who had associated with

painters of Tuscany, who are considered the Italian precursors to the

Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subjec ...

. Altamura had had a colourful life and gained a predilection for historical and religious paintings. They eloped and, after Altamura abandoned his wife (the renowned Greek artist Eleni Boukoura-Altamoura) and their children, they had a son together, Bernard or Bernardo Hay (1862–1934). Jane Benham Hay exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1848, 1849, 1859, 1861, and 1862. Her two entries of 1859, ''England and Italy'' and ''Portrait of a Boy in Florentine Costume,'' established her reputation. Painted just prior to the unification of Italy, ''England and Italy'' was a powerful statement in favour of democratic unification, as well as a compelling work of art.

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

noted that both works were "masterly complete in effect". although he did not care for the political overtones. ''England and Italy'' went missing some time after 1859, and was not rediscovered until the late 1990s. In 1867 Jane Hay achieved her greatest professional success with ''The Florentine Procession'', also known as ''The Burning of the Vanities'', which was exhibited by

Henry Wallis Henry Wallis (21 February 1830 – 20 December 1916) was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter, writer and collector. Wallis was born in London on 21 February 1830; his father's name and occupation are unknown. When in 1845 his mother, Mary Ann ...

at the

French Gallery French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), a ...

in London. This painting is now in the collection of

Homerton College, Cambridge Homerton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of Protestant dissenters with origins in the seventeenth century. In 1894, the col ...

. Her later life is not well documented. She died in Brussels, Belgium, in 1904.''UK, Foreign and Overseas Registers of British Subjects, 1628-1969''

Notes

References

*Howitt, Anna Mary. ''An Art Student in Munich'', Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1854 *Jan Marsh and Pamela Gerrish Nunn, editors. ''Pre-Raphaelite Women Artists'', Manchester City Art Galleries, 1997. *Nunn, Pamela Gerrish (Ed.) ''Canvassing: Recollections by six Victorian Women Artists'' London: Camden Press Ltd., 1986 *A. Chapman and J. Stabler, editors. ''Unfolding the South: Nineteenth-century British women writers and artists in Italy'', Manchester University Press, 2003. *Orr, Clarissa. ''Women in the Victorian Art World'', Manchester University Press, 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Jane Benham 1829 births English women painters Women of the Victorian era 1904 deaths Pre-Raphaelite painters 19th-century English painters 19th-century English women artists Pre-Raphaelite illustrators Female Pre-Raphaelite painters